


Origins

by 11JJ11



Series: Shapeshifting AU [1]
Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Actual Cat Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir, Actual Ladybug Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug, Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Shapeshifters, Animal Transformation, Episode: s01 Origines | Origins Parts 1-2, One Shot, Shapeshifting, Shapeshifting AU, The Miraculous turns them into animals not heroes
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-22
Updated: 2021-02-22
Packaged: 2021-03-12 14:49:19
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,604
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29636286
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/11JJ11/pseuds/11JJ11
Summary: When Marinette finds a pair of earrings in her room and a kwami named Tikki telling her she was the only one that could stop the giant rampaging Stoneheart, she had her doubts.Even more so when the earrings turn her into a tiny little ladybug.But with her friend in danger, an eager black cat at her side, and the very fact that magic was real she figures there's no harm in actually trying.
Relationships: Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir & Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug, Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir & Plagg, Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug & Tikki
Series: Shapeshifting AU [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1629151
Comments: 19
Kudos: 62





	Origins

**Author's Note:**

> How the Origins episode went down in my Shapeshifting AU. :)
> 
> Thank you to Khanofallorcs and Sheriff Crab says "Yee-Claw" for beta-ing.

“This... this is going too fast, Tikki,” Marinette said slowly, staring at the small creature in front of her. “I won’t be able to pull this off, I–”

Today was just supposed to be a normal day, the first day of school. Stressful, yes,but a normal kind of stressful. Unfortunately, today hadn’t gone like that at all. Between her classmate becoming a giant stone monster rampaging through the city and then the strange flying creature saying she was the only one who could stop him... today had been anything but normal.

Tikki smiled, as if expecting this reaction. “Trust yourself, Marinette. Just say ‘spots on’.”

“Spots... on?”

Tikki’s smile turned into a grin, and she could feel the earrings in her ears heating up. Tikki turned into a burst of energy, zipping towards the jewel, which began to glow with light. Marinette froze up, the foregin power beginning to course through her body. Pink light danced across her, and before she could even let out a word, she could feel herself shifting. Pressure bore down on her, her own body shrinking in on itself, while other parts seemed to grow. The only thing she felt was horror– limbs sprouting from her side, something growing out from her back– her entire body changing in a way that was far from natural.

When the light faded her room was no longer how she remembered it– everything around her was enormous. She was not standing on the floor, but rather on her vanity. She shivered, and normally her eyes would be shifting about in fear, trying to understand what had happened, but her eyes wouldn’t move. Yet, somehow, she was able to see far more than before, her range of vision was now much wider.

Everything about her felt wrong. She wasn’t standing– she was crawling, if that was the word she could even use. Her limbs no longer felt like her own, now long and thin, and there were far more than she remembered. Her back was heavy, foreign, and the appendages on her head twitched with a mind of their own. She wanted to whimper, but the sound she made was inhuman. She tried to shift an arm, and instead multiple legs moved together.

Slowly, she turned so she was facing the mirror of her vanity– and found herself face to face with the reflection of a ladybug. Her panic returned all at once, and it wasn’t even the fact that she was no longer human. Panic flooded through her, scrambling back as she tried to let out a scream– but no sound came from her.

How was she supposed to stop a giant rock monster as a tiny  _ bug? _ Was this a cruel joke from TIkki? She had said a new form, and she wasn’t sure what she was supposed to be expecting– but it most definitely wasn’t this!

She tried to speak, to try to call out to Tikki, to tell her to stop all of this, but all that came from her was a small sound. She had no words to describe it, and so in her mind she settled for a ‘chirp’. She scuttled around on the vanity, fear coursing through her as she let out more frantic chirps. What was she supposed to do? She couldn’t fight like this– and she had no idea how to turn back. Again she tried to call out to Tikki, trying to tell her to change her back into a human. More noises came from her as she paced in circles, but nothing happened.

All she got was the distinct feeling that she should fly.

If she could, her eyes would have widened at the feeling– because there was absolutely no way that she was going to do that. Walking felt weird enough, and she honestly found it was a miracle that she hadn’t tripped over her own  two feet six legs yet. She wasn’t even thinking, as she scurried about, and fortunately there seemed to be some instinct that came with being transformed. Was that what this desire to fly was? Instinct? Well, she wasn’t about to follow it, there was no way she was leaving a solid surface.

_ Tikki? _ She thought desperately.  _ Help– please! _

She felt a wave of calm wash through her.

_...Tikki? _

She then felt another wave of calmness run through her. The little ladybug shuddered, somewhat relieved by this. Sure, she had only known the magical creature for a total of two minutes, and now she somehow seemed to be inside her head– but an empathic link was better than being completely alone.

_ Tikki, help! Change me back– please! _ She thought desperately, since she couldn’t talk. She paused to wait for a reply, but all she got in response was the desire to fly once more. Her heart hammered, realizing that the desire must be Tikki telling her to fly. She inched towards the edge of the vanity, peering down at the floor, which looked like it was a mile away– and she hurried back as quickly as she could.

It was of course at that moment she realized that she wasn’t breathing heavily like she normally did in a panic– and the fact that there was no air moving through her mouth at all. Instead she could feel it being drawn in on the sides of her body, the strange mechanism happening outside of her control. Her panic set in once more, the realization that she was a bug once more dawning on her.

She was snapped out of her thoughts by the desire to fly returning tenfold– intense and fiercer than before.

Again she inched towards the edge of the desk, looking down once more. She just stared for a moment, not even realizing that her elytra were slowly opening. Her wings flared out from under the protective shell, twitching in anticipation. The next thing she knew they were buzzing as they began to flap faster and faster. She could feel herself rising up from the vanity, her feet dangling in midair and she took to the air.

If she could scream, she would have. Instead, she was a buzzing mess as she spiraled around her room, having no idea how to fly, yet sheer instinct kept her from crashing. Around and around she went, and it wasn’t until she caught sight of her computer that she attempted to control where she went. She zipped by it a few times, trying to focus on what was on screen. Fortunately, the news was still playing, so at the very least she could listen. It seemed that Stoneheart was still attacking the city in search of Kim.

And the giant wasn’t the only thing the camera caught sight of– but also a redheaded girl biking after him.

_ Alya! _ She thought in a panic, her new friend clearly not having been joking about going after what she called a ‘super villain’.

She could sense that Tikki was feeling a bit smug as she flew towards the open window in desperation. She had no idea of what she could do, but she knew that she couldn’t let Alya get hurt. While she may have been a bug, the kwami had said that she was the only one that could stop Stoneheart– so perhaps there was something that she could do.

_ Shut up. _ She thought to Tikki. _ This is crazy, you’re crazy, I’m crazy for doing this– but I have to help her. _

Flying about the room had been scary enough, but as she flew outside her window she realized just how small she truly was. Paris had gone from looking like a city to an entire country, sprawled out below her as a frightening reality. Cars zipped by on the street, people scrambled about on the sidewalk, and she increasingly became aware of the fact that the smallest thing could squash her.

_ If only I was bigger. _ She thought as she flew past her house, and in that same moment her body began to tingle as it had done when Tikki had been summoned into her earrings. She felt her body shifting once more, and for a frightening moment she thought she was turning back into a human when she was several stories up. Her body was indeed growing, but it wasn’t wasn’t changing shape as it had before.

She was still flying as the energy stopped running through her, and she was still a ladybug– but the world wasn’t quite as big as it had been before. The Ladybug hovered in midair for a moment, taking in what had happened. She now was about a foot across in size, and the buzzing of her wings was much louder than it had been before.

The transformation had been sudden, but unlike her other one, it was not met with panic. Her legs curled under her slightly in relief, realizing that she was no longer a tiny little bug. Yes, she was still a bug– but as Tikki had told her, she was a bug with powers. She wasn’t helpless; perhaps she actually did have a chance in all this.

And a partner. She was supposed to have a partner– she wasn’t going to be alone in all this! Hope surged through her, and she began flying forward once again. She quivered as a gust of wind came by, and still she kept on flying on, eyes scanning the ground in search of Stoneheart.

Though she did not notice, on her back one of her five spots had vanished.

* * *

Today hadn’t started out brightly for Adrien at all– a failed attempt to escape to school had been thwarted by both Nathalie and the Gorilla, which had led to a lecture by his father. He hated the fact that one of the only times he was able to see him was when he had done something wrong, as if that was the only thing mattered. And it wasn’t even as if he had done something horrible; what was wrong for wanting to go to school? To meet other people his age? To just be a kid?

However, now as he raced across the rooftops, he wouldn’t change a single thing about today.

He wanted to cheer, though the sound came out as more of a yowl. His paws seemed to barely even touch the cement below him as he ran, and never before had he felt so free. He didn’t even feel out of place in this foreign form; in fact it felt like the most natural thing ever. His tail flicked, a purr forming in his throat as he leapt across an alleyway. He was a cat! He was able to turn into a  _ cat! _

Plagg had seemed annoying at first, trying to eat everything in sight, but that had been totally worth it. The strange kwami-creature had so much to offer, powers, magic– things that Adrien hadn’t even imagined to be real. The ability to give him this new form, shapeshift and escape his room that he had been trapped in for so long, and a chance to be a hero? It was all too good to be true!

The black cat paused as he reached the edge of a roof, a road stretched out in front of him. He paced along the roof’s edge for a moment, trying to figure out a way to cross. There were trees growing on either side of the street, but the branches didn’t grow in a way that would allow him to cross. Adrien had learned he had amazing jumping skills in this form, but definitely not enough to clear a whole road. He peered down, whiskers twitching. He’d have to climb down and cross normally, but he should be able to reach that window ledge just fine and...

His thoughts were interrupted by the sound of buzzing, and he looked up just in time to see a blur of red come spiraling down towards him. His fur stood up on end, but before he could even leap away the thing crashed right into him. They were sent flying off of the building, spinning through the air as they rushed towards the ground below, green eyes dilating in fear. He didn’t have a moment to think, instinct taking over. He twisted about in the air, tail spinning as he flipped himself over so his feet were facing the ground. He didn’t even have time to brace himself, colliding into cement.

It hurt, there was no doubt about that, but it was a lot less pain than what he should have felt for falling off a two story building. He stood there for a moment, the bottom of his paws aching, heart pounding, and he tried to calm himself. Nothing seemed to be broken, and he wasn’t bleeding. He took a step forward, and his cat legs seemed to have no trouble with supporting him. Adrien let out a sigh of relief, his raised fur relaxing, and he turned to look at what had crashed into him.

He recoiled at the sight of the giant bug, leaping back with a hiss. His fur stood up again, and he studied the creature in front of him. It was roughly the same size as him, bright red in coloration. The ladybug was on its back, legs kicking in the air as it tried to right itself. For some reason, he didn’t feel threatened by it, even though it was as big as him. It was just a ladybug, and while it was the size of a cat, at least it wasn’t a giant spider or something. Like him it didn’t seem harmed from the fall, though clearly not as flexible as him. He crept towards it, watching as it attempted to get back on its feet.

‘Looks like cats really do land on their feet,’ he thought, lips twitching, though he couldn’t quite smirk as a cat.

‘Who was that?!’ A rush of thoughts entered his mind– ones that most definitely weren’t his own. He stiffened up in fear, ears going back.

‘...Hello?’ He tested, blinking once.

‘Who are you, and why are you in my head?’ The voice demanded again. It was different from his own thoughts, the words foreign– and he got the distinct impression that it was female, even though he wasn’t picking up the words with his ears. ‘You’re not Tikki!’

‘I’m–’ Adrien began, about to say his name– when a sick feeling wasn’t over him. He paused for a moment, but for some reason, everything told him not to say his name. He hesitated, before starting again. ‘I’m the cat. And I bet you’re the partner my kwami told me about. Are you the ladybug, by chance?’

‘That’s me,’ the voice said again. The ladybug went still for a moment, before trying to turn over again. ‘Um... could you help me? I’m stuck.’

‘Oh! Of course, sure thing!’ Adrien said, bounding over to the beetle. He swiped at it with a paw a couple of times, and for some reason he had to force himself not to focus on the twitching legs. It took a moment, but with his help the ladybug was able to right herself on her feet. The shell on her back opened slightly, before pressing closed. She had four spots on her back, and she was watching the cat with her big eyes.

He really wanted to bat at her antennae.

‘I’m so sorry for crashing into you!’ The telepathy rushed into his mind, sounding slightly panicked. ‘I’m so clumsy, and it’s my first time flying, and there was a strong breeze, and–!’

‘No sweat, clumsy girl,’ he replied with a flick of his tail. ‘I’m learning the ropes too. It’s not fair that you get to be giant, though– I’m just a normal cat!’

Her antennae lowered. ‘I started out as a regular ladybug, I had to use one of my power ups to do this– didn’t your kwami explain that to you?’

He pawed at the ground. ‘I guess I was a bit excited by my new life,’ he then paused. ‘Wait, does that mean I can go bigger too?’

Tingles raced across his body in reply, energy surging through him. He let out a shudder of excitement as he felt himself changing, body swelling up in response to his thoughts. As the faint glow vanished he found himself looking down at the ladybug in front of him, and as he looked over himself he guessed he was now about the size of a lynx. An excited purr thrummed through him, and he gave an attempt at a fanged grin.

‘Awesome!’ He thought. ‘Can I go bigger than this?’

He found himself growing once more, this time swelling up to the size of a leopard. He still seemed to resemble a house cat in build, though, with pointed ears and all. That didn’t matter though, because being a giant black cat was  _ awesome. _

‘Stop that!’ The ladybug cried. ‘We only get to use our powers five times before we switch back! Look at your chest, you’re down to three now!’

He glanced down at his chest, where his marking from before was now different. It had been the only part of him that hadn’t looked like a normal cat, because there was a neon green paw print right over his collarbone. Now two of the paw’s pads had faded to black like the rest of his fur.

‘Oh,’ he said telepathically, before flicking his ear in dismissal. He heard a large crash, and he looked up in the distance. ‘Oh well, now I’m more fit to fight that stone giant!’

He then started running down the street towards where he had heard the crash. He laughed in his mind, he thought he had been fast before, but that was nothing compared to this larger form. He bounded down the sidewalk, paying no heed to the people that scattered in his wake. He saw a building beginning to fall, and that only increased his pace.

‘Hey! Wait!’ the ladybug called after him. ‘Where are you going?’

‘To save Paris!’ He replied, not slowing from his run. ‘That’s what we’re supposed to do, right?’

He felt something from their telepathic connection, but it wasn’t something he could understand. It seemed to be the telepathic version of muttering, vague impressions in his mind, but not clear words. The only impression he got was a sense of nervousness from her, and as he glanced over his shoulders he saw the Ladybug taking to the air, flying after him.

It wasn’t hard to find Stoneheart; Adrien caught sight of him climbing up the walls of a stadium as he rounded a corner, and he ran just a little bit faster. He honestly had no idea how he was supposed to fight this monster, but he did have fangs and teeth, so that was a start. He wasn’t quite sure how a ladybug was supposed to help; even when big, she wasn’t truly big.

They did have their powers, though; he couldn’t forget about that. Plagg had said he had the power of Destruction, which was both awesome and powerful, so he was sure the ladybug would have something too. She seemed a lot more hesitant than him at this, but this was their first time after all.

He was a cat, but he wasn’t going to try to climb up the giant walls of the stadium right now. Falling once was enough for today, and the entrance was right there. He bolted for the door, and he could hear screams and a rumbling coming from inside. There were kids his age bolting towards the entrance from the inside as he came charging through, though they froze as they saw him. One girl let out a scream, all of them pressing up against the wall as he ran past.

Inside, Stoneheart was jumping onto the center of the stadium, running after one kid in particular. He was calling out something to the boy, which gave Adrien the impression that somehow this was personal. Stoneheart ran after the poor teen, who tripped, fear entering his eyes as a giant rocky hand reached towards him.

A deep snarl rose in Adrien’s throat, and he leapt forward with a powerful bound, claws extending as they dug into the hand of Stoneheart. His skin may have been made of stone, but his claws were able to give him a grip. The giant let out a roar of frustration, attempting to shake him off. Adrien winced as he was flung away, crashing into the ground, but, thankfully, the other kid had run for the exit.

A purple mask appeared over Stoneheart’s face, and those glowing eyes focused on Adrien. He let out a low bellow, charging at him. “Give me your Miraculous!”

Thank goodness for animal instincts, because he didn’t even have to think as Stoneheart swiped at him. Muscles tensed, and he leapt to his feet, away from the Akuma’s strike. This didn’t seem to faze Stoneheart, though, lunging for him once more. The cat danced out of the way again, and a closed fist came slamming down on him from above. Adrien jumped, landing on top of the fist and using that as a platform to spring on top of Stoneheart’s head.

Fangs dug into a crack in his rocky armor, sinking into skin below. Stoneheart let out a bellow of pain, and he began glowing. He surged in size, the force knocking the cat from his back. Adrien twisted, landing on his feet with ease, panting. The giant turned to face him, clearly enraged, and the giant didn’t seem to be on any sort of limitation as Adrien was with his own growing abilities.

‘Where are you, partner?’ He called telepathically, and he began darting around the giant’s feet as he swung at him again with his rocky fists. They were supposed to be doing this together, right?

Adrien felt something, a small connection in his mind that let him know that his ladybug partner was there, but there were no words. Was she too far away? Was she not saying anything? Wasn’t she supposed to be helping him? As powerful as this form was, he was getting tired, and he didn’t dare attempt to slash or bite at it again in fear of it growing even more. He didn’t know how to fight this thing– and help would make this easier!

Stoneheart then lifted up one of the football nets from the stadium field, hurling it towards Adrien. He dodged once again, albeit a bit more slowly than before, and it bounced off of the grass and behind him. His ears flicked back as he heard a gasp of fear, and he wheeled around to see the net coming down towards a girl near the entrance– who was filming the fight on her phone.

“Mro-mrow!” He cried, attempting to shout for her to look out as he ran towards her. There was no time to think as he sprang up into the air, and warmth in his chest as he drew on the power of destruction rooted within him. Dark energy bubbled around his paw, claws out as he pounced on the net moments before it struck the girl.

The football net began deteriorating the moment he made contact. The teenage girl had covered her head, preparing for the inevitable blow, but as she looked up all she saw was ash raining down on her. She stared at the panther-like cat as he landed next to her, throat feeling raw as he panted for air. His muscles were not used to this, and were beginning to feel sore, yet Stoneheart was coming at them, showing no signs of exhaustion.

He glanced down at his chest, where only two pads of his green paw remained– and one of them he would probably need for shrinking to slip away unnoticed when this was over.

Stoneheart came rushing at them, and Adrien pounced on the girl with retracted claws to knock her out of the way. She let out a scream– an ear splitting scream as if he were about to tear her apart. There was no time to respond, though, as Stoneheart reached out for him– this time managing to scoop him up in his grasp. He struggled against him, but the rocky fingers were unrelenting.

Jaws opened without thought, attempting to find a weak point in his armor as he bit. He didn’t seem to care that it would only make Stoneheart stronger. His bites did nothing, though, and he felt Stoneheart’s grasp on him tighten. He let out a yowl of pain, drowning out all other noises– and so neither he nor Stoneheart heard the buzzing until it was too late.

The ladybug came rushing down, having grown even bigger than before. Now the size of a large beach ball, she zipped about Stoneheart’s head, wings flapping wildly before landing on his wrist that held Adrien. Stoneheart raised a fist, bringing it down onto the ladybug, and she dove off of his form. A roar of pain rang out from the giant as he smashed his own wrist, grip on Adrien loosening. It was just enough for him to slip free, bolting towards the edge of the field and out of reach of the monster.

The ladybug flew over to join him, shaking slightly as she tucked her wings back under her elytra. She had only three spots left on her back, and now stood taller than him, though he was still longer in length. Stoneheart was breathing heavily, turning his glowing gaze towards them, growling in pain.

She glanced at him. ‘Sorry I took so long.’

‘It’s cool, wonderbug,’ he replied, and he decided that he loved telepathy. It was so much easier to just send the thoughts towards her, not needing to pause to catch his breath before he spoke. ‘Now, let’s take this monster down!’

‘How?’ the ladybug asked, the fear clear in her voice. ‘The only time he doesn’t grow larger is when he attacks himself!’

He flexed his claws, going down into a stalking position as Stoneheart turned towards him. ‘I think a bit more of my Cataclysm should take care of this beast.’

_ ‘No!’ _ Her telepathy reached him with startling force, leaving him with a slight headache as it faded. He decided this was basically yelling, and he shot her a frustrated look. ‘That’s an actual person under there, not a beast! You really didn’t listen to your kwami, did you?’

Stoneheart came rushing at them, and they ran in opposite directions. ‘Person or not, he’s attacking everyone else!’

‘Ivan’s under control of the Butterfly Miraculous! This isn’t his fault, you can’t destroy him!’

‘Then how are we supposed to fight him?’ He snapped back, bolting away as the other net was uprooted and thrown at him. His heart twisted, though, at this new knowledge– had he really been about to use his Cataclysm on someone? He had thought this was a monster, but if someone was just being forced to attack like this... it made him sick.

The ladybug was back in the air, surveying the fight from above. He found this slightly unfair that she was out of reach of being hit, but to be fair, she was not fast on the ground. He kept his distance from Stoneheart, running in circles around him if he came too close.

‘My kwami said we have to break the object where the Butterfly is hiding to break him free of the control.’

Adrien snorted. ‘Well, he’s made entirely out of stone.’

‘His right hand, it’s still closed,’ she said after a moment. ‘He’s never opened it!’

He flicked an ear. ‘You think it's in there?’

‘We have to get him to open it, there’s nowhere else it could be!’

Stoneheart let out a roar of frustration, smashing the other football net with two closed fists. He watched the giant closely, and sure enough, as he turned away his right fist was still pressed shut. He had no idea how she had noticed that. He lowered himself into a charging position, ears forward.

‘So, what’s your plan?’ He asked, ready to leap into action.

‘How many spots do you have left?’ She asked after a moment, and Stoneheart came charging at him. ‘I have three.’

‘Two,’ he replied, ready to leap out of the way once more.

‘Let him capture you!’ She called, and his eyes widened. He sprang out of the way despite her words, darting away from the rocky fist. Muscles ached, but he didn’t let that slow him down. ‘Just trust me!’

_ This girl’s crazy. _ He thought, but he listened, coming to a stop. Stoneheart snatched him up without hesitation, gripping him in a harsh grasp. He instantly regretted his decision, struggling to escape.

The ladybug then came zipping down from the sky, dancing around the closed fist. At first Stoneheart tried to knock her away, but after a few lucky dodges he opened his hand, snatching the bug from right out of the sky. A small purple object dropped from his hand, rolling to the ground. Adrien swallowed, wondering if both of them were about to be crushed right now.

The ladybug then began to glow, growing in size. Adrien watched in awe as Stoneheart tried to keep his grasp on her, but her sheer size and smooth shell were in her favor. She dropped to the ground, rolling to her feet, and she scurried over to the item that had dropped. She stared at it for a few seconds, glancing down at her thin legs, before just laying down on it with her giant form to crush it.

Black energy began to bubble around Stoneheart, and he looked down at his form in shock as the energy rushed over him. Large boulders broke away from his body, and within the mass was a teenager– large, although much smaller than he had been as Stoneheart– Adrien now free from his grasp. They all fell to the ground, the former giant rubbing his head, looking around in confusion.

“Wh-what’s going on? What am I doing–?” he froze up when he saw Adrien, shuffling back away from the large cat as quickly as he could, eyes wide in fear. “P-panther!”

‘I’m not a panther,’ he muttered, though all that came out of his mouth were deep “mrows”.

‘Yes, you are definitely an adorable kitty cat,’ the ladybug replied, pushing herself to her feet. Under her the purple object had changed– now a crumpled up piece of paper.

A low purr formed in Adrien’s throat as she came towards him. She now towered over him in size, the giant bug definitely not what most would consider a pretty sight. The cat’s green eyes only shined through as he looked at her– because this girl was awesome, crazy awesome! A giant ladybug doing a body slam to win a fight? That was better than any anime!

‘You were incredible!’ Adrien said, pouncing towards her. He didn’t even notice the way Ivan looked at the two animals in fear, having leapt to his feet and running as far away as he could. Alya was still recording by the exit, but even she was pale as she recorded the two animals as they met in the center of the field. ‘You did it!’

_ ‘We  _ did it,’ she corrected, and he tilted his head. 

She sounded a bit uneasy, nervous even, but he supposed that was natural. What they did most certainly hadn’t been safe, and they had been thrown into it without warning. Her antenna dropped, and he wanted to give her a hug. A paw reached up, but he swiftly became aware that in their current forms that wasn’t possible.

Only two spots remained on her elytra, and two green ones on his chest. They looked at each other for a moment, then both closed their eyes as they started to glow. They shrunk back down to their original sizes, a small ladybug in the grass in front of him. He laid down, barely believing that this little creature had taken down the stone giant so effortlessly. Only one spot remained on her back, and from what his kwami actually had told him he knew that they’d turn back shortly if they activated their powers one more time.

It was reassuring to know that there was someone else in this with him– but at the same time, he was keenly aware that he didn’t know a thing about her, despite having depended on her so much. He had no idea what her name was, what she looked like, and she knew nothing about him.

But there was something there, something about fighting side by side that just made him feel alive.

He had just met her, but he trusted her.

They said nothing else to each other, the ladybug spreading her wings and taking to the air. Adrien watched her go, before turning and racing towards the exit. The girl filming kept her phone trained on him the entire time, inching back as he came near. He paused, looking up at her and the boy who had been Stoneheart, who both had wide eyes. He blinked once, but supposed what they had seen was a lot to take in– and he ran out of the stadium.

Nobody noticed the purple butterfly out on the field, who slowly rose up into the sky, a frustrated quiver in his wings.

**Author's Note:**

> I will be writing more to this universe, but it will all be one-shots or very short multichaptered stories. So if you're interested in seeing more, make sure you subscribe to the series and not this fic. :)


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